Sheriff McGehee stated that recently the Sheriff’s Department has received information regarding “out of town businesses” that are charging for services not rendered, or in some cases price gouging.

“On one occasion, a local elderly resident was told they would receive an exceptional deal on asphalt and that the deal could only be made because they had asphalt that was going to be left over from another local job,” said Sheriff McGehee. “When the job was completed the resident was charged several thousand dollars more than they expected to pay.”

The Sheriff urges local citizens to check references when dealing with vendors/businesses, particularly when dealing with high-dollar items/services.

“Also, consider getting your deal in writing so that you know exactly what you are getting and what you can expect to pay,” said Sheriff McGehee. “Scams also continue to be a problem and local residents are commonly being called by out of town and in many cases, out of country scammers. In some cases, residents are being told that they must send money to out of town postal boxes to avoid arrest. Some local citizens are also being asked to send money orders or cashier checks to postal box addresses and are then told that they will then be able to redeem large cash prizes.”

The Muhlenberg County Sheriff’s Office would like you to remember that if it is too good to be true it most likely is.